Convertible skirt



Feb. 2l, 1950' l.. M. sEvER 2,498,184 CONVERTIBLE SKIRT Filed May '16,1946 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Feb. 21, 195o L. M. sEvER 2,498,184 CONVERTIBLE'SKIRT Filed may 16;" 1946 2 sheets-sheet 2 Patented Feb. 21, 1950UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 2,498,184 CONVERTIBLE SKIRT Louis M. Sever,Los Angeles, Calif. Application May 16, 1946, Serial No. 670,143 6Claims. (Cl. 2-213) a womans garment.

dual purpose and a dual appearance. These desirable features areattractively and eciently combined in one garment, which may be of askirt type or a garment including a lower portion functioning as a skirtand having a conventional dress-like appearance.

The construction features and advantages that are original, distinctive,and found only in my design are these: in conjunction with the skirt isprovided fabric which is supported by and hangs from the waist line andwhich is sewed longitudinally through the center to form a crotch aswell as being joined with the outer two halves of fabric which comprisethe skirt. Two leg portions are thus formed which have the appearanceand utility of loose trousers, or a split skirt. Means for fastening andunfastening, which may be slide fasteners (zippers) or the like, areattached vertically to the center front and join the two leg portionstogether in the front and back, creating the pleasing outward appearanceof a n1ce1y tailored skirt. Upon opening by moving the slidable membersupward to the desired height, the division takes place and the garmentbecomes a split or divided skirt. In this way the garment is made usableand is well suited for wear in active sports, etc., where an ordinaryskirt would not be practical or appropriate.

One of the two slide fasteners (preferably the one in front) which, whenopen, helps to divide the skirt portion may be of the completelyseparating type and be also used for separating the garment at the topof the waist band, permitting the wearer to put on or take off thegarment, thus eliminating the necessity of a separate placket, orfastener, for that purpose. The fasteners provided in the front and backof the garment may be operated individually to close the divided skirt,to in turn open it for active use, or, if it is desirable, to producethe effect of hkick pleats, either in the front or back, or

both, said fasteners may be raised partially t0 obtain the properresults. e

In order to avoid the bulky and droopy ap# pearance commonly found inand about the crotch portion of an ordinary divided skirt, I have madeuse of novel and unique methods in cutting, folding, and supporting thefabric. Means of expansion are provided at the Waist line which allowsthe wearer to put on and take olf the garment with ease. The abovemethods, which are original in my design, create a well fitting andcomfortable garment without involving the use of any excess material.

The general construction of my garment is such that the outer skirtportion is held in by and supported at the waist line as though it werea regular skirt. The inner portion of the garment, which provides acovering for the thighs and upper legs and closely conforms to the shapeand contour of those parts of the body, is also securely held in placeby support from the waist line. In this way, these two major portionsindependently maintain their proper shape and yet conform with eachotherwithout drooping or bunching as might otherwise result. The naturalrigidity of the slide fasteners and the particular way in which they areused help in the support and alignment of the fabric down the front andback of the garment.

In the accompanying illustrations and descriptions various designs andadaptations are shown. The basic construction lends itself to manydifferent styles, practical applications, and uses. Cottons, rayons,woolens, or any fabric suitable for active sports wear may be used inits manufacture.

The principles involved and so illustrated and described constitute thebasis of my invention.

Referring to the drawings:

Fig. 1 is a view as seen from the front of the wearer of the garmentwhen it is used as a skirt;

Fig. 2 is a similar view as seen from behind the wearer;

Figs. 3, 4, 5, and 6 are views showing the patterns of various crotchmembers;

Fig. 7 is a plan View as seen from above, of the waist line of thegarment with no pleats at this line;

Fig. 8 is a sectional view on a plane indicated by the line K-K of Fig.12, showing how the legs of the garment are formed, this plane beingviewed in the direction of the arrows adjacent the line K-K of Fig. 12;

Fig. 9 is a plan View of the garment in the position it iinally assumesadjusted for wearing by the user;

Fig. 10 is a plan View of the waist line of the garment in place on thewearer but not finally adjusted;

Fig. 11 is a section on a plane passing through the center of thegarment;

Fig. 12 is a View of the garment as seen from the front of the wearer ofthe garment when it is used as trousers; and

Fig. 13 is a similar View as the wearer.

In its simplest form waist line of the when seen from behind the garmentincludes eight fabric members numbered in the drawings from l to 8.These parts are sewed together as herein-- after described and areprovided with` a crotch "zipper 9, a front zipper IG, and a rear zipperl2. The terms right and leftj as used hereinafter denote position inrelation to the wearer of the garment. l

The members 2 and 3 'are sewed together along a seam 23 to form a leftouter panel 24, and the members l and 4 are sewed along a seam 25 to orma right outer panel Z. The members I and 2 are connected by the frontzipper lil, which is of the type which fully disengages at the end ofits travel. The zipper lil is pulled upwardly from thebottom 21 or kneeline K--K tothe top 28 or waist line W-W of the front of the garment todisengage the members l and 2.

The rear zipper I2 vextends from a point 29 somewhat below the top 28 ofthe garment to the bottom 21 thereof and is .pulled upwardly todisengage the members 3 and 4` With the zippers l0 and i2 fully-engaged,the garment has the appearance of a skirt, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The members 5 and l are sewed together along a seam 3l? to form a leftleg panel 3l, and the members 5 and 8 are sewed together along a seam 32to form a right leg panel 33. The left leg panel 3l is sewed at thefront along a seam 34 and at the back along a 'seam 35 to the left outerpanel 24. The right leg panel 33 is sewed at the front'along a seam 36and at the back along a seam 3l to the right outer panel 26. The panels24 and 3l form a left leg and the panels 25 and 33 form a right leg ofthe garment. The seams 35 and 3l are sewed together in a seam 4i) on theback of the garment from the top 28 down to the point 29, as shown inFig. 2, and from there to the bottom of the garment they are securedtogether by the rear zipper l2. The seams 34 and 36 are secured togetherthroughout their entire length by the front zipper lil, and by pullingthe "zipper i0 entirely out oi engagement the seams 34 and 36 may beentirely disengaged fromv each other. The members 5 and 6 may be joinedtogether at the front by a front crotch seam 4l, and the members l and 8may be joined togetherv by a rear vcrotch seam e2. I prefer, however, tosubstitute for parts of the seams 4l and 42 the crotch zipper '3. Thiszipper extends from a point just below the top at the back `of thegarment to a similar point on the front. It will be noted from Fig. 8that the outer panels 24 and 26 are much wider at the lower end of thegarment than the leg panels 3i and 33.

The top of the garment is encircled by a belt 5U having a conventionalThe members 8 and 1 are each folded to form a back pleat 52 so that theseam 42 coincides with the seam 40, and this pleat is stitched togetherat the top of the garment. An elastic band 53 is secured at the seam 4l,which joins the members 5 and 5, and one end of this band is fastened at54 to the member l and the other end is fastened to the member 2 at 55.The band 53 acts as a belt to hold the outer panels 24 and 26 againstthe hips of the wearer when the front zipper I0 is disengaged. Perhapsmore important, it supports the top portion of the members 5 and 6 toform a front pleat B3 due to the seams 34 and 36 being drawn together.fIh'e garment may be easily pulled up over the hips ofthe wearer, thepleatil being pulled open and the members 5 and '5 being drawn fromtheir Fig. 9.

"folded position in the pleat 58, as shown in Fig. 9,

into an extended position, as shown in Fig. 7. The member 53 may be anon-elastic tape fastened with-snap fasteners or buttons at 54 and 55tothe members l and 2. When the garment is assembledfthe pleat 52 formedby the upper ends of 'the members l and 3 is sewed permanently in place.

The garment shown in the drawings extends only'from the waist-of thewearer to a pointnear the knees. Obviously, the garment could be'made ofankle length, andy it is also obvious that an upper sleeved portioncould be added to the garment and that the front zipper l0 could beextended to join 'the edges of Vthis upperportion.

While -I have shown anddescribecl the use of zippers as fasteningmeans,it is obvious that buttons, lacings, or other well known fastening meansare mechanically equivalent to zippers and may be substituted'therefor.

The peripheral portion ofthe garment formed by the members |,`2, 3, and4 forms a complete skirt. The members5, 5,1, and Reform the crotchportion of the garment, 'the crotch itself being formed bythe seams 4land42. This crotch portion resembles a pair of Atrousers with a stripremoved ldown the outer vportion of each thigh and legof the wearer.

The circumferentialwaist length, that is, the lengtharound the waistofthe wearer, is that shown in Fig.v 10 and is Vequal to the total widthof the members l,'4,V 3, 2,5, 'and 5 at their upper ends, less allowancefor-seams. This circumferential'waist length is sufficient to'allow thegarment to be drawn up over the hips of the wearer, 'and when it isinplace the-elastic member 53 tends to draw the seams '34 and v36 togetherand thus shorten the circumferential 'waist length so that the garmentlits about the lwaist-of the wearer and n is supported by fthetops V'ofythe hips. The elastic member 53, being attached vto the crotchportion'at the `seam l4I, tends to hold this crotchportion iup. Thecircumferential waist length can be further shortened bythe belt'50 andits buckle 5l so that it lits tightly aboutth'e waist of the wearer.When the circumferential waist lengthisfullyshortenedjas shown in Fig.9, the seams 34 and Stare drawn'together and fastened together by the"front Zipper l0, and the'pl'eats'52 and 50 fold automatically intoplace.

I claim as my invention: n n' 1. A garment comprising: aperipheral'portion forming a skirt; a rear slide fastener extending onlyfrom the'bottom of said skirt to apoint somewhat below lthetop of thegarment; a front slidefastener extending from the bottom of the garmentlto the top thereof and so constructed buckle 5i, as shown in 75 thatitis entirely 'released at-the top of its travel;

a crotch portion secured at the waist line to said skirtin such a manneras to form a garment having a continuous waist portion includingportions of said crotch portion, said waist portion having acircumferential waist length suicient to allow the waist encirclingportion thereof to be pulled upwardly past the hips of the wearer; andan elastic tape situated at the waist line at the front thereof andsecured at each end to said skirt and crossing those portions of thewaist line occupied by the waist encircling portion of said crotchportion, said tape being secured near its center to the center of thatportion of the crotch portion which forms a part of the waist line ofthe garment at this point, said tape constricting said garment at thewaist line to fit about the waist of the wearer of the garmen 2. Agarment comprising: a peripheral portion forming a skirt; a rear slidefastener extending only from the bottom of said skirt to a pointsomewhat below the top of the garment; a front slide fastener extendingfrom the bottom of the garment to the top thereof and so constructedthat it is entirely released at the top of its travel, said front slidefastener when engaged connecting the inner front edges of the skirt fromits waist line to its knee line; a crotch portion secured at the waistline to said skirt in such a manner as to form a garment having acontinuincluding portions of said Waist portion having a cirlengthsuicient to allow the waist encircling portion thereof to be pulledupwardly past the hips of the wearer; and an elastic tape situated atthe waist line at the front thereof and secured at each end to saidskirt and crossing those portions of the waist line occupied by thewaist encircling portion of said crotch portion, said tape being securednear its center to the center of that portion of the crotch portionwhich forms a part of the waist line o f the garment at this point, saidtape constricting said garment at the waist line to fit about the waistof the wearer of the garment.

3. A garment comprising: a split skirt having a front pair of edgeswhich extend from the hem of said skirt to the waist thereof, and havinga rear pair of edges which extend from the hem thereof to a pointintermediate the hem and waist thereof; an expansible pleat connected tosaid skirt on the inside thereof and extending` downwardly from thewaist of said skirt adjacent said front pair of edges; front fasteningmeans for securing the edges of said front pair together, said frontfastening means being releasable from the hem of said skirt to the waistthereof to permit expansion of said pleat whereby said skirt may bepulled upwardly past the hips of the wearer; a belt member on the insideof said skirt at the waist thereof, said belt member being connected atits ends to said skirt and being connected intermediate its ends to saidpleat to prevent sagging of said pleat; and rear fastening means forsecuring the edges of said rear pair together.

4. A garment comprising: a split skirt having a front pair of edgeswhich extend from the waist of said skirt to the hem thereof, and havinga rear pair of edges which extend from the hem of said skirt to a pointintermediate the hein and waist thereof; an expansible front pleatconnected to said skirt on the inside thereof and extending downwardlyfrom the waist of said skirt adjacent said front pair of edges; a rearpleat connected to said skirt on the inside thereof and may be pulledupwardly past the hips of thc pair of rear edges wearer; a belt membersituated on the inside of said skirt at the waist thereof, said beltmember being connected at its ends to said skirt, and being connectedintermediate its ends to said front pleat to keepsaid front pleat fromsagging; and rear fastening means for securing the edges 0f said rearpair together.

5. A garment comprising: a split skirt having a pair of front edgeswhich extend downwardly from the waist of said skirt to the hem thereoffor the full length of said skirt, and having a which extend upwardlyfrom the hem of said skirt to a point intermediate the hem and waistthereof; a crotch portion inside said skirt and connected to said skirtat the front and rear thereof, said crotch portion cooperating with saidskirt to -form front and rear pleats which extend downwardly from thewaist of said skirt; front fastening `means for securing said frontedges of said skirt together, said front fastening means beingreleasable along the entire length of said front edges to permitexpansion said skirt at the waist thereof, member being connected at itsends to said skirt and being connected intermediate its ends to saidfront pleat to constrict the waist of said skirt and to prevent saggingof said front pleat and said crotch portion; and rear fastening meansfor securing said rear edges of said skirt together.

6. 'A convertible garment intended to perform a double function, thatis, to serve as a skirt and to be readily convertible into trousers,comprising: a right-hand skirt panel whose upper edge has a lengthapproximately equal to half vthe circumferential distance around thewaist of a prospective wearer; a, right-hand trouser panel recesseddownwardly from its upper edge to form a space to receive the crotch ofsaid wearer; a right-hand front seam joining the front edge of saidright-hand trouser panel to the front edge of said right-hand skirtpanel; said right-hand panels being so joined by said right-hand frontseam so that the upper front edge of said righthand trouser panel formsa front extension of the upper edge of said right-hand skirt panel; aright-hand back seam joining the back edge of said right-hand trouserpanel to the back edge of said right-hand skirt panel; a left-hand skirtupper edge to form a space to receive the crotch of said wearer; aleft-hand front seam joining the front edge of said left-hand trouserpanel to the front edge of said left-hand skirt panel, said left-handpanels being so joined by said left-hand front seam that the upper frontedge of said lefthand trouser panel forms an extension of the upper edgeof said left-hand skirt panel; a lefthand back seam joining the backedge of said left-hand trouser panel to the back edge of said left-handskirt panel; a crotch seam joining the edge of the recessed crotchportion of said right 12p-email Atrrm'iser panel to 'the edge lof :the:recessed crotch 'portion :oflsad left-hand trouser panel; readilydetachable closure meansvfor securing the iront edge of isai'd'right-'hand Sskirtpanel to the iront edge of Asaid. left-hand vskirtpanel; an elastic:

member secured at its center to the upper yfront edge 'ofone of Lsaidtrouser .panels maar its juncture with the other trouser panels,`said.=el:istic "member extending parallel to the upper verweist edge ofthe garment, one endof said elastic member 'being secured to saidright-:hand Vskirt panel near the upper `edge thereofl and the otlfxerend 'of saidelastio member being securedito 'said lefthand skirt panelnear the upperedge thereof;

'and a belt passing around andengagng the 15 ripper-edge of the :garmentLOUIS M. SEVER- 8 REFERENCES yCITED 'The following references are'ofrecord in the 'file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 428,271 v.terveny et al May 20,1890 1,113,998 Johnson Oct. 20, 1914 Y.Z\,1.2.0,508 Rayner 'June 14,1938 10 '2,138,230 AFriedman Nov. 29, 1938 2,21"3.,900 Buchanan Sept.A3, v1940 FORETGN FPATENI'S .Number 'Country Dette '8,464 Great vBritain40f A1914 fl'BS-,SBU 'Switzerland -Ju1y v16, 1936

